Connections
by Die Heart ItaNaru
Summary: Shino Aburame is a military brat who's dad is constantly uprooting their lives. He keeps to himself and only has his bugs for company. Until a certain dog-lover brings him out of his shell.
1. Chapter 1

Connections

One more move, one more school, and hundreds of new names that I never bother connecting with faces. Except one, except _his._ I know _his_ face anywhere; with those red fangs on his cheeks and spiky brown hair, I could never mistake him for anyone else. I can pick his voice out of a million others. Those people around him don't deserve his attention, his smile, his laughter. But neither do I. I'm nothing but a new kid that barely anyone knows the name of. I suppose that's my fault but I don't want to make the mistake of having friends just to leave them, not again. I just couldn't help myself with him. With _Kiba_. Even his name is so beautiful I feel worried to say it out loud. I'll never forget the first time I heard that name.

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_ I stepped through the main doors of the school and immediately the noise of hundreds of students washed over me._

_'Number 6' I thought. I turned and walked into the main office and up to a woman behind a desk, her name tag said 'Shizune'._

"_Hello are you..." she looked down at a piece of paper on her desk "Shino Aburame?" I nodded and she handed me my class schedule. Turning around in her chair she yelled "Inuzuka!" In a second _he _walked into the room and I felt my mouth go dry._

"_Yeah Shizune?"_

"_This is Shino. He's new and I need you to show him around until he knows where all his classes are." His face lit up and gave me a heart melting grin._

"_Sweet I can get outta here _and _help the new guy around." he walked up to me and stuck his hand out ."I'm Kiba." From anyone else I wouldn't have even responded but I found myself shaking his hand and muttering my name. Throwing his arm around my shoulder, he led me out of the office. _

"_Thanks for getting me out of there, I owe you one." After a moment he took his arm off my shoulder, much to my displeasure, and stopped._

"_So what's your homeroom?" he asked._

"_English with Mr. Umino." I said quietly. He clapped me on the shoulder and gave me that same smile._

"_Me too! So where'd you move from?"_

"_South Dakota."_

"_Jeez that's quite a way. Why'd you move?"_

"_Dad's in the military so we have to move a lot."_

"_That sucks." He said morosely but he quickly smiled again and patted my shoulder "And poor you, you get stuck with _me_ to show you around." I actually smiled at the joke and looked down slightly. "There we go!"_

"_Huh?"_

"_It took me like five whole minutes to get you to even smile, most everyone is cracking up in seconds with my flawless comedic routine." he said, sticking his chest out like he was serious. I chuckled lowly at his antics and he stopped at room number 85._

"_Here we are." he proclaimed. He opened the door for me and gestured for me to follow him. He walked down the aisle of seats and sat down before patting the seat to his right. "Sit here."_

"_Thanks." I muttered. I didn't know why but something inexplicably drew me to this boy. I'd never looked at guys before but when I think about it I never looked at girls either. Maybe it's only Kiba._

‡ ‡ ‡

That was months before and I was just sitting against the big oak tree in front of the school, reading one of the entomology books my dad gave me.

"Shino." Someone whispered. I drew my eyes up and saw that Kiba was standing in front of me. He also had a Danaus plexippus, or Monarch Butterfly, on his nose. "Quick Shino get one of your bug bottles." I was surprised that he knew I carried specimen jars but I got one out anyway. Dabbing a cotton ball in some chemicals I dropped it into the jar.

"Hold your breath." I said quietly. He inhaled deeply and I coaxed the butterfly into the jar and closed it. He let out a loud breath a smiled.

"That guy landed on my nose and-"

"Girl." I corrected softly

"Huh?" he asked.

"It's a female. The wing veins are thicker."

"Oh. Well, anyway I was wondering if you'd like to make a trade."

"Trade?"

"Yeah. You keep that monarch and you know that dog pencil-topper?"

"Yeah."I replied.

"It looks exactly like Akimaru and I was wondering if I could have it." I dug in my pocket and pulled out the white pencil-topper.

"This one."

"Yeah!" he exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. I shrugged and handed it to him. When I turned to sit back down he cleared his throat.

"Hey Shino you busy?"

"Not particularly."

"Would you like to come see a movie with me, Naruto, and Sasuke. They're on a date and I feel weird being a third wheel." Throughout my observing of Kiba I'd seen him hang out with the couple, which led me to believe he had no problem with gays, and I had made it a point to remeber Kiba's friends. Nodding in response I grabbed my backpack, put my stuff inside, and followed Kiba across the schoolyard. As we rounded a corner on the sidewalk I blushed as Naruto and Sasuke came into view. It was public knowledge that their romance was, well, public. The two were laying on the grass, kissing avidly. Kiba rolled his eyes and kicked Sasuke's foot.

"Hey love birds are we going?" The boys pulled apart, panting heavily.

"Sorry" Naruto said "You were taking to long and we got bored." Kiba sighed in exasperation but I could hear no real anger in his voice, only fond annoyance.

"Terribly sorry that you two can't stop a grope-fest from happening if your left alone for five minutes."

"Apology accepted." Sasuke said monotonously. The older boy stood up and grabbed Naruto's hand, pulling him up. We were walking down the street towards the theater when Naruto turned to me and stuck out his hand.

"Sorry but I don't think we've been introduced properly. I'm Naruto Uzumaki." Not wanting to offend Kiba's friend, I shook his hand lightly. Naruto elbowed the Uchiha and cleared his throat loudly.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha." He inclined his head slightly and I returned the gesture.

"Anyway..." Naruto began loudly "what do you want to see Shino?" When I just looked at him he smiled, unfazed by my silence. "I prefer a good comedy."

"No way." Sasuke said behind him.

"And why not?!"

"Because you repeat every line of the movie for days until I have to smack you." Sasuke retorted. "Let's see a horror movie." Naruto paled slightly and shook his head.

"Hell no. You know I hate scary movies."

"Your just scared." Kiba taunted. The blonde immediately rounded on him.

"I am not, dog-breath!" Sasuke simply wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist and set his chin his shoulder.

"Be quiet moron, you're making a scene. It's fine if you're scared."

"But I'm not." Naruto whined.

"Then you should be fine for the movie eh?" Sasuke asked, using Naruto's words against him.

"Fine." Naruto muttered before he pulled out of Sasuke's grip. Looking up, I realized we were at the movie theater. As we walked along the carpeted interior Naruto pointed to and read the various posters advertising movies. We all stepped up to the ticket counter and Sasuke ordered four tickets to a movie called "Past Curfew". As I pulled out my wallet Kiba said.

"I got yours Shino." When I looked up at him he added "I invited you along." Shrugging, I thanked him and the guy handed Sasuke four tickets. As we passed a girl by a red rope she took our tickets, tore them, then handed them back. Passing by the snack bar, we took our seats in theater 5. As the previews played I grew more and more anxious.

'Why_ did I agree to come to a horror movie_' I thought miserably. As I tapped my fingers on the arm rest Kiba reached over and gently grabbed my forearm. I jumped, I later realized the very unmanly squeak I heard came from me, and whipped my head over to look at him.

"What!?" I hissed quietly.

"Are you okay? You seem really tense and jittery." I could hear the concern coloring his voice but at that moment my irritation outweighed my affections.

"I _do not_ like scary movies." I said quietly, returning my gaze to the screen.

"Do you want to leave?"

"No." I sighed. "I can deal with a horror movie for an hour."

"OK." He replied warily. We sat in silence as some paper-thin story line involving a police enforced curfew because of some psycho killer legend was explained. Then some teenagers were complaining and saying that it wasn't real. Obviously the idiots would have a compulsory need to disobey and sneak out after curfew. The plot was nothing that a fourth grader couldn't have predicted from reading the back cover yet I still found myself tensing as the music took an ominous tone.

"Shino are you OK?" Kiba asked quietly beside me. As I turned my head to answer, a blood-curdling scream issued from the screen. My mind immediately shut down and my body sought refuge in the closest safe place, namely Kiba's shoulder. I could feel the dog-lover tense as my face buried into his arm and my heart stopped for a moment when he pushed me away. As I watched him, with terror in my eyes, he pushed the armrest between us up and beckoned me back over. For a moment I hesitated, until another scream came from the movie and I practically dove into Kiba's arms. As I clung to him I took the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to inhale Kiba's scent. It was intoxicating and musky and I found myself calming down quickly but I refused to relinquish my hold and Kiba made no move to pry me off. So we stayed like that, inexplicably entwined, for the rest of the movie. The rest of the watered-down plot took it's course as I sat in my own personal heaven until the last people were dead and the story set itself up for an obvious sequel. As the theater started to lighten and the credits played, I cursed the lazy jerks who only made this movie an hour long. Surely that Katie girl's chase scene could have been longer or Jerry could have fought back a little harder. As I pulled away I looked over at Naruto and Sasuke to answer the questions I knew would come from their seeing our intimate holding. I regretted the decision immediately. Both boys were rather.......engrossed with each other. 'Engrossed' meaning battling to see who could remove the others tongue first. Looking back to my left I saw Kiba stand up and roll his eyes. He pushed past me and rapped both boys on the head with his knuckles.

"What the hell?!"

"Ow!"

"Sorry, the movie was over but the horror was still happening." I don't if it was the stress of the situation or if I had just finally fallen off my rocker, (my vote is for the latter) but I immediately burst out laughing. All three heads swung to look at me but even their incredulous looks couldn't derail my crazy train. After a second Kiba joined in. Naruto began cracking up as well and even Sasuke even managed a low snicker. When our laughing had subsided we took our leave of the theater and headed outside. As we were wrapped in the cooling summer air Naruto grabbed the Uchiha's arm and tugged him along.

"Come on 'Suke. Walk me home." The blonde said. The Uchiha growled and pulled Naruto back by their linked arms.

"Dammit I told you to stop calling me that moron." Naruto pouted for a moment until a mischievous look crossed his face. He leaned up to Sasuke's ear and said.

"Then why don't I call you..." The last part was whispered so no one but Naruto and Sasuke could hear. Everyone could see the results though. Sasuke paled slightly, if possible, then turned red with anger. He grabbed the blonde's shoulders and slammed him into the building. Leaning in until their noses nearly touched, Sasuke growled.

"You wouldn't dare." Naruto smirked, scarily akin to the trademark 'Uchiha Smirk', and said.

"Oh wouldn't I, u-" Sasuke smashed his lips against Naruto's, cutting the blonde off. When he pulled away he growled lowly.

"Fine, let's go." He then turned on his heels and stomped off, leaving Naruto to follow. As the blonde ran to catch up both me and Kiba heard Sasuke say.

"You are in _so_ much trouble."

"Then you'll just have to punish me eh?" I shuddered at the, none to well hidden, innuendo. Beside me Kiba chuckled and my focus was immediately back on my reason for being here.

"So Shino..." Kiba began slowly "I'm not one to beat around the bush. So I'll come right out and ask. Do you...like...like me, in a more-than-friend way?" My heart raced at his question and I looked away.

"W-what would you do if I did......hypothetically?" I asked.

"I'd do this." Kiba said calmly. He gently gripped my chin, tilted my head backward, and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. After a moment he pulled away and looked at me. "Hypothetically." I wracked my brain for a response but my mouth found one first. I leaned back in and captured those delicious lips again. My hands found their way into Kiba's soft, brown hair and he growled before wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me closer. We stayed like that for a while, our mouths moving gently against each other, until we ran out of air and reluctantly pulled away from each other. We stared at each other for a moment, tension thick in the air, until Kiba smiled that same heart warming, goofy grin of his and laughed. The tension melted like butter and we walked, together, to my house. We stopped at the door and Kiba gave me one more soft kiss before scurrying off. I leaned against the door until the Inuzuka was out of sight and my heart ceased it's racing. Turning I opened the door and headed inside. My dad stuck his head out of the kitchen.

"Your late, why?" He asked me.

"Hangin' out with some friends." I answered dreamily. My dad smiled at me and went back in the kitchen saying.

"I'm glad." I went up to my room and lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling. My dreams that night were filled with screams, warm, musky shoulders and the plump, red lips of a certain dog-lover.

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Okay this is my first story I've ever put up and my currently fragile confidence rest in your hands, the readers. Please be honest but try not to be too brutal. I'm in foreign territory and I need some buddies. Review for me and let me know what you thought. ItaNaru out.


	2. Chapter 2

Connections

I sat under my favorite tree, reminiscing about what happened under it yesterday, when a shadow fell across my lap. My gaze flicked up and landed on my favorite dog-boy.

"Hey Shino." He grinned happily and sat down next to me. I followed him with my eyes as he leaned against the tree next to me.

"Hi." I replied quietly. He grew silent and solemn, an unnatural combination for Kiba. "Something wrong?" I asked, letting an inkling of my concern into my voice. His gaze snapped over to me and he sighed.

"Yeah. Yeah something is." I gulped at his tone, thinking that the only thing that could have been bothering him was our kiss. Well, kisses. "What are we, Shino?" My eyebrows furrowed at the question.

"We're human, sophomores. If that's what you're asking?" Kiba punched me lightly on the arm.

"Not that, bug boy. I meant you and me......us. Are we an 'us' or are we just you and me?" Most people wouldn't have understood but I was fluent in 'Kiba'. I smiled softly, something I found that I only did with Kiba and Naruto, and brought my hand up to his cheek.

"I thought we we're an us." Kiba's morose expression dropped and his normal, 'normal' being a relative term, personality came back.

"Good. I'm glad." He leaned forward and kissed me gently. When he pulled away the bell rang, signaling that we had five more minutes. "We better get going." Kiba said. He stood up and I followed. The second I was upright, he pinned me to the tree and kissed me once more. "Sorry, I needed to do that just one more time." I smirked and walked up the front steps of the school. Kiba raced past me into the class to take his seat. I walked in calmly after him. I proceeded down to my seat and as I was sitting I felt a sharp sting in my behind. I jerked and looked over at Kiba, who was grinning wickedly. I pulled out a piece and scribbled furiously. '_Don't do that!_'' I passed it to Kiba who read it and smirked. He wrote onto the sheet and handed it back. '_Do what?_''. I could practically hear his fake innocence. '_You know damn well what, you pinched my ass._' I wrote before flinging the paper hastily to him. He smiled again and calmly wrote. '_Oh did I do that. Terribly sorry...You loved it though didn't you?_'' I fumed as I read his response and wrote down my own. '_No I didn't you ass. You're gonna tell the whole school!_''. As I held it out to him a tan hand snatched the note out of my hand.

"And what do we have here, Mr. Aburame?" Mr. Umino asked. I looked over to Kiba who was suddenly pale. Kiba began stammering excuses but Mr. Umino held up a hand to silence him. "Mr. Inuzuka you know better than to pass notes, and you should too." He said, the last part was directed at me. He scanned the piece of paper and I thought for a moment he was going to read it aloud. Instead, his face grew surprised then he nodded understandingly. "You two stay after class, I need to speak with you." My heart sank and I could tell Kiba wasn't feeling much better. That hour of class was the longest of my life. The entire time, Kiba and I were casting forlorn glances to each other. When the bell rang, we got up slowly, trudging to the front of the room. Mr. Umino, surprisingly, didn't look angry, only understanding.

"I can understand you boys are in a......delicate position." Mr. Umino said slowly. I winced at the wording and it's implications. "I want you boys to know that this will remain in the strictest confidence. I know what you both are going through." In response to our questioning looks he added. "I didn't acknowledge that I was gay until I was nineteen. I'm proud that, even if it's private, you're embracing who you are." Both of us blushed and looked down at the bluntness of his statement. "I'm glad you boys have each other to rely on in this difficult time of your lives. Furthermore, I want you to know that you may both come to me if you need any advice, or the like. I remember how confusing it was. Going through something like this with no one to turn to can lead one to seek out help from anyone who'll offer it. Even if they might not have your best interests in mind."

"Thanks for understanding Mr. Umino." Kiba said, his relief obvious in his voice. The teacher grew stern and Kiba looked away again.

"Do not let this affect your behavior or schoolwork or I may have to inform the councilors and parents. Are we in agreement then?" We both paled and hastily agreed. He smiled and said we could proceed to our next class. We exited the room and left to our respective rooms. My next class was math and Naruto and I sat next to each other. The entire time Mr. Hatake was talking, I was distracted and fidgeted nervously. Eventually Naruto poked me in the arm and whispered.

"Stop squirming and meet me in the second floor bathroom." I looked at him with a perplexed expression but he simply ignored me, raising his hand. "Mr. Hatake?" The man paused and looked over at the inquiring blonde. "Can I go to the bathroom, it's an emergency." Mr. Hatake sighed and nodded, resuming his lesson. Naruto got up and looked at me pointedly as he left through the door. After a few minutes I sought permission to leave as well. His eyes narrowed a fraction but he granted me my request. I raced through the halls, up the staircase, and down another stark hallway. I halted at the set of blue doors with crude pictures of a blue male and a pink female. I stuck my head into the boy's bathroom and Naruto beckoned me inside.

"OK, so what's up with you?" I sighed and looked away. I briefly explained the encounter between Mr. Umino, Kiba, and myself. Naruto whistled lowly.

"Damn, how does he do it?" I looked up at the blonde before, startled. "He's the one who first figured out me and Sasuke's relationship. He's the one who convinced me to come out of the closet." Naruto had a dreamy and grateful look to him as he said that.

"He also said we could talk to him if we need any advice." Naruto stepped forward and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"And the same goes for me, Shino. Kiba's been my best friend for years and you've certainly been inducted into the gang too." I smiled at Naruto's inclusion of me in their 'gang', as he called it. "If you've ever got anything on your mind, anything at all, I want you to know you can talk to me." It amazed me at times how Naruto could seem like such and imbecile one moment, and a loyal, caring, and wise friend the next. It reminded me somewhat of Kiba. My heart warmed at the sudden thought of the dog-boy and it must have showed on my face because Naruto threw an arm around my shoulder and smiled at me. "We've got great guys, huh?"

"Yeah, we do." I replied quietly.

"I've got the bastard with a hidden heart of gold and you've got dog-breath who's a great kisser." My warm and fuzzy feelings stopped, abruptly, and I glared at Naruto. He smiled sheepishly. "It was nothing! We were confused, adolescent boys who were experimenting. We both agreed it was awkward and stopped it." I still felt my anger simmering but the blonde had managed to deter my wrath.......for now. Kiba, however, would be getting an earful later. Or, at least, as much of an earful as was possible for me to give. Naruto laughed nervously and turned to leave.

"How long ago?" Naruto groaned.

"Do we have to talk about this?" He complained.

"Yes." He huffed and crossed his arms.

"Seventh grade. It was before Sasuke and me realized what we felt towards each other." I stared intently at the blonde before deciding he was telling the truth. I sighed and walked past him, out of the bathroom. Naruto followed and we walked down the hall in silence. By the time we got back to Mr. Hatake's room, it was only ten minutes before class ended. He looked over at us and handed us each a sheet of paper, the homework for tonight. We thanked him quietly before taking our seats. I stared at my paper, not seeing it. Naruto and Kiba.....together. I knew Kiba would tell me not to be jealous or angry. And I would have agreed with him. The problem was, I wasn't jealous. I'm not convincing myself either. The idea of them as a couple was so absolutely ludicrous that it didn't even bother me. Kiba was mine and I knew that no one would take him from me. At least not without fight. When the bell finally rang it broke me out of my daze and I stood up, working the crick out of my neck. I went through the rest of my day in silence, though no one thought anything was wrong. It wasn't until Kiba appeared by my locker that anyone knew what it was that I'd been thinking about.

"What's up Shino?" Kiba asked, his usual merry-self. I gently closed my locker and turned towards him, shouldering my pack.

"You and Naruto, seventh grade." Kiba cocked his head to the side and looked at me.

"What are you talking about?" I explained what Naruto had told me. Kiba grinned broadly and threw an arm around my shoulders. "You've had me for a day and you're already worried someone's going to snatch me?" He whispered in my ear, making me shiver pleasantly. "I didn't know I was _that_ good looking." I pushed him away and made a halfhearted attempt to glare at him. He laughed and we walked through the doors. I turned to walk home when Kiba took up pace beside me. "Could I come over for a while?" I nodded and we continued towards my house. We came through the front door and my dad looked up from his paper.

"Hello Shino." He said. He turned to Kiba. "And who might this be?" Kiba smiled and stepped forward.

"I'm Kiba, nice to meet you Mr. Aburame." He said, extending his hand. My dad stood and shook the offered appendage.

"Glad to finally meet you."

"We'll be in my room." I said quietly. Dad nodded and released Kiba's hand. We made our way upstairs to my bedroom. I sat down on the bed and looked up at Kiba. He cocked his head and stepped up to me. He reached up and gently gripped the frames of my glasses. My hand shot up and grabbed his wrist.

"What are you doing?" I asked, unable to keep the panic out of my voice.

"I've never seen your eyes before." He said quietly. He leaned down until we were at eye level. "I want to."

"No." I said firmly.

"Why?" I couldn't think of a good answer for that. No one had cared enough to ask me before about _why_ I wore my sunglasses. In fact even I didn't know why. Kiba took my silence as an invitation and slid my glasses off my face. I had never felt more naked and exposed before. I tried to look away but Kiba held my chin, forcing me to look him in the eye. He placed my glasses on the night-stand and pushed me down gently by my shoulders. He quickly straddled me and looked me straight in the eye. He leaned down and kissed me. My eyes slid shut and I grabbed the front of his shirt. I won't lie and say I was an expert at kissing. It was sloppy and uncoordinated. But it was me and Kiba, so it was perfect. Kiba balanced his weight on one hand while the other snaked into my hair. I moaned softly as Kiba stroking my hair. He pulled back, ever so slightly, and rested his forehead against mine. Even such a simple amount of felt amazingly intimate and I found my body temperature spiking.

"You're not allowed to wear your glasses when were alone like this." Kiba said breathlessly.

"Who says?" I shot back, annoyed that he was ordering me around. His hand fell from my hair and I whimpered as Kiba braced both hands on either side of my head.

"Me. I don't like you hiding from me behind them." He pause before saying. "I want you to trust me." My voice caught in my throat as I looked up at Kiba. My eyes filled with tears of frustration and I looked away. He leaned until he was back in my line of sight. "No more hiding, please?" My heart sank at the pleading tone of his voice and I closed my eyes for a moment. When I opened them again, I looked up at Kiba again. I leaned forward and our lips connected gently for a moment.

"OK." I whispered. Kiba smiled softly and kissed me again.

"Thank you." He sat to the right of me and looked down at me, his hand retaking it's spot in my hair. My eyes closed again and I sighed softly as his hand ran through my dark hair. We sat silence for a while. What was probably only a few minutes became hours of blissful silence. Kiba did nothing but stroke my hair and gaze with wonder into my eyes.

"Shino?" Kiba whispered."Do you trust me?" I thought about that for a long time, my gaze never leaving his.

"Yes. Yes I do." Kiba smiled at me for a while before he snorted in laughter.

"When did we get so sentimental?" I glared fiercely at him. Unfortunately, for him, without my glasses it was much more powerful.

"Shut up. I've never done anything like this with anyone." I hissed, feeling rather betrayed that Kiba would laugh at this. I sat up and faced away from him. Kiba seemed to realize that this was important for me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder.

"Me neither. I've never said anything like that to anyone," He gently turned my head towards his. "only you. I've never been this comfortable with-" Kiba quickly cut himself off and scrambled off the bed at the sound of footsteps in the hallway. Kiba launched into my computer chair and pretended to be absorbed with the screen. I pulled an entomology book off the floor. I stared intently at the page as my door opened.

"I'm going to make hamburgers is that all right?" My dad asked. Kiba didn't speak so, of course, I had to answer. I lowered my book and said.

"That's fine." My dad looked over to me and his mouth opened, but no sound came out. He stared at me, one of the most surprised expressions I'd ever seen on his face. "What?" His eyes narrowed, I couldn't see them but his eyebrows did, and he asked.

"What were you doing in here?"

"Nothing!" Kiba answered, a little to quickly. My dad looked at me and one of his eyebrows raised. I suddenly felt angry, at no one in particular, and stood up. I looked to Kiba and he seemed to understand me, he always does. He stood up and walked behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"We're together." I said quietly, my hand entwining with Kiba's on my stomach. My dad looked from one of us to the other for a moment.

"So hamburgers are alright?" Kiba and I exchanged a bemused look before he nodded. My dad nodded and began closing the door. Right before it was about to close, he opened it back up. "We'll talk about this later." My breath whooshed out of me as the door finally closed and I slumped against the dog-boy behind me.

"I like your dad." Kiba said softly. That was all the warning I got before he flopped backward onto my bed, dragging me with him. He managed to land us with me situated right in between his legs, his head resting on my pillows. His hands rubbed invisible patterns on my now exposed stomach, my shirt had rode up when we fell, leaving me incapable of arguing. We laid there until my dad called up the stairs that the food was ready. I pushed my glasses onto my face and we proceeded downstairs to eat. I don't think that I have had such an awkward meal ever before or since. Everyone was silent the entire time. That was no uncommon occurrence between my father and I but Kiba was another story. It truly startled me that my dad could reduce, the normally chatty and never quieting, Kiba to a silent mass, quietly eating green beans. After dinner was over my dad stood and took his plate away, us in tow with our own, into the kitchen. We cleared the table efficiently and silently. When we finished, my dad quietly suggested that Kiba go home. Kiba hugged me and muttered a goodbye into my ear. He walked quickly out the door, y dad shutting it behind him. His head turned to me.

"Now we'll talk about this." I inwardly groaned and sat gracefully on the couch. "First, I'd like you to know I'm not mad." I perked up at that, perhaps he'd still let me see Kiba. "However, I'm upset that you didn't feel you could trust me enough to tell me. Why is that?" I looked away from his passive face and thought for a time.

"We've never been very open with each other. I feel like our house isn't a place for emotions." My dad rubbed his chin and looked at me.

"I want you to know that you can come to me with any problem. I guess I've never bothered to talk to you about it because I thought you'd never _have_ problems, at least not ones that you weren't capable of handling on your own." He sat beside me and patted my knee. "You're so like your mother, so strong and independent." My gaze shot up. He never talked about my mom, so this was very unique. "I realize now that every child has troubles from time to time. I know that you'll handle them the way you handle everything, calmly and with consideration. I know you wouldn't enter a relationship unless you were certain the benefits outweighed the risk." God, he made my life sound like a math problem, but I knew this was my dad's way of being a supportive father. "I know that all our moving has been hard on you and that you have refrained from making friends to avoid leaving them. As long as you're happy and safe, then I don't mind what it is you're doing. If you ever need me though, I'm here." He patted my head and stood. I watched him leave the room, our familiar silence returning. Dad doesn't say much, but that's what makes you listen harder when he does. I knew my dad understood and that we would have no problems between us or between him and Kiba. I smiled gently and stood up. I went to my room and laid on the bed, dwelling in the lingering scent of Kiba. I sighed and rolled onto my side. I still had homework to do.


	3. Chapter 3

Connections

I lifted my glasses up slightly and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I yawned as my glasses fell back into place. I walked silently into the kitchen, where my dad was drinking his coffee, and fetched myself some cereal. As I stirred the sugary flakes, my mind wandered through all that had happened recently. I let my natural rhythms carry me through my morning, barely awake except for the thoughts of Kiba. Before I knew it, I found myself on the bus. Two stops after mine, the very same dog-boy got on too. He walked down the aisle, having immediately spotted me. He flopped down next to me and gazed sidelong at me. I shivered slightly at his heated gaze. I leaned close to him and whispered.

"Don't try anything funny Kiba, here or at school." When I pulled away, Kiba looked at me, irritation apparent on his features.

"Why not?"

"Cause I'd like to keep this low key. The entire school doesn't need to know we're dating." I hissed. Kiba's gaze swung away from me, but not before I saw the hurt in his eyes. My heart wrenched at the sight and I put a hand on Kiba's shoulder. When he looked at me again the hurt was gone, but so was all the emotion in his normally expressive eyes. I inwardly sighed and watched the scenery passing outside my window. Kiba was distant throughout school that day, nothing like his usual chipper self, and I began to get concerned. After fifth hour let out, I tugged on Kiba's sleeve and towed him to the bathrooms. Once inside I checked the stalls before locking the door. Kiba's eyebrows shot up.

"Don't get any perverted ideas." I said, crushing any hopes right off the bat.

"So what did you want?" He asked. Kiba must have noticed when I flinched away from the icy tone in his voice and eyes. They both softened as he stepped forward, his arms wrapping around me. I sighed lightly into his chest before speaking.

"Why don't you come over after school." We both knew that even though it was stated as a command, I was asking for him to come, to forgive me. Kiba sighed loudly and held me tighter.

"Okay." I relaxed into his hold, basking in his scent for a while. He pulled away after a minute, far too fast in my opinion, and said. "We need to get to class." I nodded and turned, unlocking the door, before heading to sixth hour. Kiba and I didn't share any other classes the rest of the day, so I didn't get to see him until the after school. We stood in front of the school as we called our parents to let them know of the plans, no problems arose. As we sat on the bus, I felt a hand slide discreetly into mine. Instead of pulling my hand away, I squeezed it and Kiba's thumb stroked my knuckle. A small smile worked onto my face and Kiba sighed contently. When the bus stopped at my house, we both jumped off and headed inside. My dad looked in from his study, he worked from home most days, and Kiba's face gained a red hue as he looked away from him.

"Hi Dad." I said mutely. He nodded in response before he went back inside. I grabbed Kiba's hand and pulled the blushing dog-boy up the stairs to my room. I shut the door behind him, pushing him onto the the bed before slowly removing my glasses. Kiba's eyes raked over my body, catching my meaning when I removed my glasses. I walked over to the bed, attempting to look sensual; my efforts worked, if Kiba's audible swallow was anything to go by. I sat down on the bed, Kiba's lips sealed over mine, slowly and smoothly. My hands came up and gently held the front of his shirt, pulling him closer. We pulled back for air, only to crash back together in kisses that were becoming more and more desperate. As I pulled back again Kiba held me away and looked at me.

"Hey Shino."

"What?" I asked, irritable that he could talk at a time like this.

"Do you wanna try something else?" I pulled away more, panic obvious in my eyes. Kiba's eyes widened as he realized what I had thought he meant.

"No no no, I meant try french-kissing." I sighed in relief and looked down as my heart slowed. When I looked back up Kiba moved forward, placing his hand at the base of the hair on my neck, and kissed me again. After a moment his mouth opened more and his warm, wet tongue slid along the seam of my lips. I hesitated before slowly parting my lips. Kiba's tongue ventured forward shyly. As the tip of his tongue brushed mine I couldn't help but moan into the dog-lover's mouth. Kiba seemed encouraged by this and began exploring my mouth. I emitted a variety of, embarrassing, noises as Kiba mapped out everywhere from my teeth to the roof of my mouth, and each one spurred the Inuzuka on. Just as he began to get more bold, we realized that our lungs were burning and pulled away. When our panting had subsided Kiba looked up at me in awe.

"God that was hot." I blushed and looked away but he gently pushed me down by my shoulders and straddled me. He leaned down, passed by my waiting mouth, and gently latched onto my neck. He licked softly and I gasped, my hands flying up to his back. As he began to nip my skin I panicked and pushed him away.

"Kiba, stop. I'll get a hickey." He sat back and frowned.

"So?"

"So?!" I said, my voice raising before I remembered we were in my house. When I continued I made sure my voice was lowered. "We talked about this Kiba. I don't want to parade our relationship around!" Kiba stood up and flung his arms to the sides in exasperation.

"No, we didn't talk. You said no and left zero room for argument. Have you ever thought about what _I _wanted out of this relationship?! That maybe I want to be able to kiss you in public? Or be able to say 'Yeah, that's _my_ boyfriend, hands off' or......ANYTHING?!" He shouted. I cringed at his raised voice and looked away but he continued all the same. "Did you ever stop to think that I didn't want to skulk around, hiding the fact that we're together." Kiba sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Believe it or not I actually care about you enough to tell people we're together." He stomped over to the door and flung it open before saying. "Maybe you should think about if you care enough." Before I could respond, Kiba slammed the door and left me to stare at it. After a minute I heard the front door shut and in another my door opened to reveal my dad.

"What happened?" My dad asked. I didn't even hear him. I jumped up and pushed past him, tears in my eyes. I bolted from the house and down the street. I ran and ran until the school came into view. I ran to my tree and sat down, my back against the rough bark, before the tears flooded my cheeks. I brought my knees up to my chest, wrapped my arms around them, and buried my face in them. I cried for the first time I could remember. As the the hot, bitter tears streaked down my face, footsteps approached and a voice asked.

"Shino?" My head shot up in the hopes that it would be Kiba but Naruto stood before me instead. "Are you alright?"

"No." I choked out. The blonde sat down beside me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I leaned over into Naruto's shoulder and sniffled. When Naruto's unfamiliar smell hit me it made me realize all the more that I didn't have Kiba and I cried harder.

"What happened?" He asked softly once my sobbing had subsided.

"Kiba." Was all I could manage but the blonde seemed to glean all the information he needed from that one word.

"I see." he murmured thoughtfully. "You know, all couples fight at some point. Me and Sasuke are a great example, especially for you two. We fight about really stupid stuff that we later look back on and laugh at. Well, _I_ laugh, Sasuke sometimes snickers but that's about it. Anyway, when we fight we take a little time, collect our thoughts, and then one of us will come over to the others, we'll talk, and then have extremely hot and passionate make-up sex that has the neighbors calling the police." I groaned and pushed the smiling idiot away. As I wiped my eyes Naruto laughed loudly.

"Jeez" I said dryly " you sure know how to make a guy feel better."

"Oh but don't you?" Naruto asked. I thought for a moment and a small smile crept onto my face.

"Yeah I guess I do." He clapped me on the shoulder and grinned.

"Good. Now you don't have to tell me what you fought about but I can tell you this; it isn't worth your relationship." He stood up, dusted the seat of his pants, and stuck his hand towards me. I gripped his hand and he hauled me to my feet. "Go talk to him." I smirked sidelong at him for a moment.

"Before or after the sex?" Naruto guffawed and clapped me on the back.

"You two are gonna work out fine, trust me." As I began to walk away Naruto grabbed my arm. I looked over my shoulder at him. "So who's on top?" I grimaced and pulled my arm out of his grip.

"We're not actually going to have sex Naruto." Naruto's face dropping might have been comical, if we had been talking about something else.

"Why not? A good romp solves everything, after talking of course."

"That's just weird, I'm not going to talk about this with you."

"How come? I'm fine giving you a few pointers on how to please your seme." I grimaced again and said.

"I do _not_ need to hear about what you do for Sasuke." Naruto immediately threw up his hands and made an exasperated noise.

"Why does everyone assume Sasuke tops?"

"I don't know. I mean he's.....Sasuke and you're......Naruto."

"So? I'll have you know that _I'm_ on top." He proclaimed proudly.

"I'm outta here." I said monotonously. I immediately began to walk off as Naruto continued to rant about how 'broody bastards don't make good semes'. Twenty minutes later I had walked to Kiba's front door and was coaching myself on what to say. I took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. After a few seconds Mrs. Inuzuka answered the door.

"Oh, hello Shino. How are you?" She asked brightly. Knowing I wouldn't answer, not out of rudeness but it's simply who I am, she stepped aside and motioned for me to enter. "Kiba's up in his room." I walked silently up the stairs and went down two doors to the left and stopped at Kiba's door. I knocked quietly on the door and I heard Kiba say from inside.

"Go away, Mom. I don't want to see anybody." I opened the door and poked my head into the room. His head shot up but his voice caught in his throat. "Go away." He said lowly, returning his head to the pillow. Naturally I ignored him and came in, closing the door behind me. He growled as I walked up to the bed but I just put my glasses on the table and laid down beside him.

"What do you want?" He asked but his voice was no longer angry, just hurt and upset.

"We need to talk. I spoke with Naruto and he says that couples need to talk to work through problems. He also said they need a 'good romp' but we'll not discuss that now." Kiba chuckled beside me and the vibrations traveled pleasantly through my body.

"Yeah, that sounds like Naruto." He suddenly became solemn and sat up, leaning against the wall. "So you think we should talk?"

"Yeah." I said while propping myself against Kiba's headboard. "I'm sorry Kiba. I've been kinda selfish." I looked down at my hands. "I've never been in a relationship before and I guess I was only concerned with me. It never occurred to me that you would want a public relationship." Kiba sighed and scooted over so he was next to me. I laid my head down in his lap, letting my feet hang off the bed. He looked up at the ceiling, his hand absently stroking my hair. I practically purred at the sensation of his hand moving through my hair. Kiba shifted awkwardly and I realized that the vibrations had gotten him excited. Feeling mischievous, I closed my eyes and pressed my head harder into Kiba's lap.

"Oh Kiba." I moaned noisily.

"Stop it!" He hissed. I looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes.

"Stop what?"

"Stop turning me on."

"Well that'll be hard." Kiba rolled his eyes and let his head fall back against the headboard. I sat up and moved so I was straddling Kiba. He brought his chin down and looked me directly in the eye.

"I want people to know." I said quietly.

"Shino, you don't have to." Kiba replied, his arms wrapping around my waist. I kissed him chastely, so we wouldn't get distracted, into silence.

"I _want_ to." I said with conviction. I leaned my forehead against his. "I want everyone to know who I belong to." I licked gently below his ear. "Mark me Kiba. Claim me as your own." Kiba moaned before he flipped me over, pinning my hands above my head. His mouth latched onto my neck and began to suck gently. "No." I said, squirming. Kiba pulled back, a confused look in his eyes. My eyes smoldered with desire as I said. "Don't be gentle. Don't be a puppy." I leaned closer to his face. "Be the animal I know you are." Kiba growled lowly before he attacked my neck. His teeth scraped over my skin and I arched into his chest, gasping. He ground down into me and sucked harshly on my pulse point. Like when we were kissing, every noise I made spurred him. And noise is what I made. After a minute all I could do was groan out garbled versions of pleas and Kiba's name. When Kiba pulled away I whimpered and tried to push my throat back to his mouth but he leaned away farther, panting heavily. He released my hands and they immediately curled into his hair to drag his mouth to mine. I kissed him furiously until he pulled away.

"God Shino." He muttered breathlessly. "You're the most delicious thing I've ever tasted. I want more."

"Then take more." I moaned. "Take all of me. I belong to you now and always." Kiba seemed to break out of a trance and he looked down at me. He sighed and sat back. Panic overtook me for a moment and I sat up. "Kiba did I do wrong? Whatever it is, I can do it better." Kiba chuckled before he drew me against his broad chest.

"You didn't do anything wrong Shino. We're just getting a little carried away, that's all." I pulled away and stared at him, perplexed. He chuckled again, that deep musical sound that I love, at my bemused expression. "I don't want us getting swept away and doing something you regret later." I looked down for a second. Suddenly I realized what he'd just said.

"Only me?" I asked. He grinned and nodded vigorously.

"I'd never be able to regret anything like that with you." He said, his voice huskier than I remembered. I smiled gently at him and settled against his chest, his arm wrapping around me. We sat in a comfortable silence for a while, Kiba stroking my hair while I I traced random patterns on his chest. Kiba's door swung open suddenly and his mom appeared. It never occurred to us that we hadn't told her.

"Shino are you staying for din..." Her voice trailed off at the intimate sight we must have made. "Uh." Kiba grinned like an idiot before he said.

"Oh yeah, he's staying. By the way," He squeezed my shoulder. "me and Shino are going out." Kiba's mom sputtered for a moment until understanding dawned on her face, along with her usual bright grin.

"I'm glad. We're having roast beef."

"Cool." Kiba exclaimed.

"Thank you Mrs. Inuzuka." I said quietly. Mrs. Inuzuka smiled softly at me.

"Please, call me Tsume." I nodded shyly.

"Cool, thanks Tsume." Kiba said excitedly. She frowned at him and said sternly.

"It's mom or mother to you." Kiba looked crestfallen for a minute so I leaned up pecked him on the cheek. He turned towards me and his frown melted into a brilliant smile. He kissed me again, on the lips, and Tsume sighed and closed the door, muttering about 'young love'. I blushed but Kiba pushed me back onto the bed, our lips never breaking contact. After a second, Kiba pulled away and buried his head in the curve of my neck. I sighed and wrapped my arms around his neck, holding him close. He placed feather-light kisses along my neck before pulling away.

'We should probably head downstairs for dinner." I sighed again, in disappointment, and nodded. As we walked downstairs I asked quietly.

"What is it about our parents walking in on us to talk about dinner?"


	4. Chapter 4

Connections

I sat at the head of my bed, glaring at the dog-boy at the foot. We had agreed to go public three days ago. The only problem was exactly _how_ to go about doing that. I wanted to do it subtly; a little hand holding and having Naruto discreetly start rumors. Kiba, on the other hand, insisted that public make out sessions and groping was the right way to go. So we took a neutral path, until we could agree, we did nothing. I sighed heavily. It was probably time to compromise. It was hard to go three days without kissing or touching Kiba.

"Kiba." I said to the sulking brunet. "I think we should find some middle ground with this." He wiped his face wearily and nodded.

"Yeah, you're right." He turned towards me. "So what do you have in mind?"

"We keep the hand holding, drop the groping, and keep the kissing tasteful." Kiba looked thoughtful for a minute.

"Sounds good to me." He crawled up the bed, on all fours, until he was hovering over me. "Especially the tasting part." Before I could protest, Kiba began to suck just below my ear. I moaned throatily and Kiba pulled away. "I'd like to make an addition, a well placed hickey or two." I nodded rapidly, eager for Kiba to continue. He immediately latched back onto my throat, nipping and licking. I clawed at his back as I managed to say.

"Oh God Kiba, you have no idea how much I missed this." He growled against my throat before pulling away.

"You think it was easy for me. Not getting to taste you, not hearing hear all those delicious noises you make." I glared at the Inuzuka for a moment before deciding that it wasn't worth arguing about; if Kiba thought they were delicious, then he would get a feast. I leaned my head up until our lips collided. Kiba growled again and pushed me back down, gathering my wrists in one hand. He held my hands above my head as he plundered my mouth and ravaged my neck. I vaguely remembered him saying one or two hickeys, the count was probably seven, but I couldn't bring myself to care at the time; Kiba's mouth felt too amazing. My hips bucked upwards at a particularly hard suck. When I did, our hips ground together, eliciting a gasp from both of us.

"Wow." Kiba said breathlessly.

"D-Do that again." I stuttered. Kiba took a deep breath before he pressed his hips to mine again. We both moaned at the sensation that erupted through our bodies and Kiba pressed into me harder. My head slammed back into the pillows as a needy moan tore from my throat.

"Oh shit, oh crap." Kiba rubbed frantically against me. Nothing had ever felt so good. Kiba's swearing grew more frequent and colorful as I felt a heat building deep in my stomach and, judging from his erratic breathing, Kiba did too. The pressure pooling in my stomach screamed for release as Kiba's rubbing grew more erratic as he quickly lost control.

"Oh shit Kiba I-I" I was unable to finish my sentence. A white hot pleasure coursed through my body, scorching my nerves. Above me, Kiba stiffened and groaned my name. I realized that I was saying Kiba's as well. Though they were shaking slightly, Kiba used his arms to prop himself over me, his breath coming in ragged pants, I was also breathing heavily. After a moment Kiba rolled to the side, pulling me into his arms. I grimaced at the wet feeling in my boxers but nuzzled into Kiba's chest all the same.

"Did we just..." Kiba began but trailed off. Panic overtook me for a moment and I pulled away from Kiba.

"This doesn't change anything...right?" I asked quietly. Kiba pulled me back to his chest, his hand stroking my hair.

"No, of course not." He said softly. "We're just gonna need to change...and do that again sometime." Kiba laughed and the vibrations hummed pleasantly around me.

"Good." I whispered, relief evident in my voice. Kiba nuzzled my hair before he stood up. I watched him walk over to my dresser and search for some underwear.

"Do you mind if I borrow a pair?"

"Go ahead. Toss me a pair." I caught the dark blue pair of boxers he threw to me and stood up. Kiba and I shuffled around awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

"It's just like gym class, there doesn't have to be anything sexual about it." Kiba offered logically.

"Do you really believe that, after what just happened?" I asked. Kiba stammered for a moment before shaking his head. "Screw it." I said after a moments hesitation. I pulled my jeans off and laid them on the bed. My fingers hooked into my boxers and froze. I looked over at Kiba. His gaze was locked on me or, more specifically, my hands.

"K-Kiba?" I said shakily. His gaze didn't waver as he said.

"Could...could you take them off?" I shivered at the smoldering look in the normally casual dog-boy's eyes but slowly dragged the wet fabric down my hips. Kiba licked his lips as inch after inch of skin was revealed until I finally just dropped the boxers; they pooled around my ankles. Kiba's eyes widened and his jaw went slightly slack. I quickly pulled on my new boxers and my pants over top of them.

"Your turn." I said quietly. Kiba shook his head before dropping his pants. Unlike me, Kiba wasted no time in pulling his soiled underwear off. I don't know if my mouth was suddenly watering or dry as the Sahara. Kiba looked up at me and, though I was the one fully clothed, I felt naked before him. He walked towards me, eyes dark. I stepped backwards and inadvertently tripped onto the bed. Kiba was suddenly looming over me, eyes hooded, clad in only a shirt.

"God Shino, you're the sexiest thing I've ever seen. I just wanna devour you." He said, his voice was huskier than I'd ever heard it. "All I want to do is pull those pants back off and-"

"Kiba!" I shouted. He blinked and looked down at himself. His eyes widened and he leaped off me, struggling his clothes on. When he was fully dressed he looked at me with pleading eyes.

"Shino I'm sorry." He said, walking up and crawling onto the bed. I scooted back until I was leaning up against the head board in the sitting position, legs pulled against my chest. Kiba paused, looking terrified that I'd reject him. After a moment, I put my knees down. Kiba's face glowed with hope as he crawled between my legs and kissed me almost frantically.

"I'm sorry." Kiss "Please forgive me." Another kiss. "I'll never try and take advantage of you again." He sucked gently on my neck. "I got carried away and I'm sorry. Please don't break up with me. I'll-"

"Kiba." I snapped. The dog-boy immediately shut up and sat back, looking chastised. "Kiba, I'm not breaking up with you." His eyes snapped to mine, filled with glee.

"Oh thank you." He said, pushing his face into my stomach as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"I never said you were off the hook." Before he could respond, I had him pinned beneath me. His eyes filled with surprise and a hint of lust. "Now I get to punish you." I whispered into his ear. Kiba moaned lowly and arched his back as I licked up the side of his neck. Then I pulled away and blew gently on it. Kiba gasped and bucked up.

"Oh shit Shino." Kiba yelped. I leaned in until my lips brushed the writhing dog-boy's ear.

"You have no idea how hot that was." I whispered. "You laying on top of me, eyes clouded with lust, whispering dirty things...just like this." Kiba shivered, hopefully for positive reasons. I found out quickly. Kiba reversed our positions and claimed my lips with a passionate fury. I immediately opened my mouth to Kiba's questing tongue, and moaned when it entered. Kiba's hand pushed under my shirt and tweaked my nipples. I gasped at the unexpected, but erotic, feeling. As Kiba began to suck harshly on my neck again, the door opened. Both of us froze as my Dad stood in the door, frozen. Suddenly, I question his sanity at that moment to this day, Kiba said.

"This better not be about dinner." My dad's eyes narrowed but he stepped aside, revealing Naruto and Sasuke. As they stepped into, the room we pulled apart and my dad said.

"You have company...and I expect you to behave accordingly."

"Don't worry Mr. Aburame," Naruto said. "We'll make sure they behave." From the look in Naruto's eye, directed at Sasuke, he didn't mean that.

"Good." My dad closed the door and we all listened to his footsteps go down the stairs. The blond suddenly gained an odd look. He sniffed and looked around, obviously taking in his surroundings. He smirked as he and the Uchiha shared a look.

"You just had sex." Naruto said. I blushed horribly and Kiba jumped up.

"We did not." He hissed.

"Oh?" Sasuke said. "Then why does it smell like sex in here?" I wrung my hands and said quietly.

"We didn't have sex...per-se." The couple both raised an eyebrow, in sync no less.

"Then what? Hands or mouth?" Naruto questioned. Kiba blushed harder than I did and shook his head. Naruto tapped his chin and looked around. When he saw our discarded boxers he snapped his fingers.

"Dry humping!" Kiba and I both 'shh-ed' the blond and looked away. I expected some kind of negative reaction or comment but Naruto came forward and clapped me on the shoulder.

"Congrats, one step closer to the real thing."

"Will you both shut up!" Kiba practically yelled. He pushed Naruto away from me wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me to his hip. "What we do is no one's business but ours'."

"Chill out dog breath. You don't have to get so hot under the collar." Kiba fumed but Naruto turned towards Sasuke. "No need to stop the party on our account." He pushed the Uchiha against the wall and attacked his neck.

"Dobe." Sasuke growled lowly, though some would say it was a moan.

"Deal teme, they got me all riled up with that groping session." Naruto said against Sasuke's throat. "Besides, just thinking about sex with you in the room turns me on." Kiba and I drew away slightly as they began to kiss furiously. After a minute, Kiba leaned down and whispered in my ear.

"Is it wrong if this turning me on?" I shot a look over to Kiba and as I opened my mouth Naruto said.

"Hey Shino, by the way, what happened to your glasses?" Kiba smirked and turned my gaze back to mine.

"He's got the sexiest eyes I've ever seen and I don't let him hide them from me." I swallowed audibly and Kiba pushed me back by my shoulders. He quickly straddled and kissed me. I moaned softly and buried my hands in his soft brown hair.

"Where's the camera?" I heard Naruto say. Kiba jumped off me and ran at the blond, fists up. Sasuke moved faster than lightning to grab Kiba's arms and push them up against his back and him against the wall.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He said languidly.

"Let him go." Naruto and I both said with varying volumes. Sasuke glanced to both of us before stepping back from the brunet.

"We should go." He said monotonously, grabbing the blond's hand and dragging him to the door.

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"I'm horny." Was the reply before he was dragged out the door. Kiba wiped his face with his hand before he looked to me.

"I gotta go too." I sighed and stood up. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him. His arms responded in kind and he said.

"We'll put the plan into action tomorrow."

"OK then." I replied. Kiba giggled and I looked up at him.

"It tickled when you talked." I rolled my eyes and laid down on my bed. Kiba stepped to the edge and ran his hand through my hair, gazing deeply into my eyes. He bent down and kissed me softly before he turned and left. I heard the front door close and a minute later my father came into the doorway.

"From now on, the door will remain open if it's just the two of you." I stared at the ceiling, my hand groping for my glasses as I nodded my assent. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the door close and I sighed when the familiar frames settled into place. Lately they had begun to feel different; not like my shield but more as a wall between me and Kiba, and the world he loved so much. I sat up slowly, a decision already made. I wouldn't hide from Kiba or his world anymore.

‡ ‡ ‡

I sighed slightly as I trudged up to the school building, Dad's car pulling away form the curb, as the rain pattered on my hood. I pushed the door open and went inside, leaving my hood up. I walked directly to Mr. Umino's English class, taking my seat. The minutes ticked by and I stared at the wooden surface of my desk, my finger tracing the swirls to dead ends. As the door swung open, I looked up and watched my dog-boy, yes _my_, sit in his seat. I stood and walked to the front of the bustling classroom and stopped, right in front of his desk. He looked up at me and his eyes widened, as he was the only one able to see under the fabric.

"Shino..." He trailed off and somehow the class seemed to realize that something was happening. Chatter died and all eyes swung to land on us. I reached up and Kiba's eyes widened further. The hood fell, as if in slow motion, and excited murmurs erupted through the room.

I wasn't wearing my glasses.

'_You haven't seen shit yet._'' I thought. Before Kiba could stop me, I gently gripped his collar and pulled him into a blistering kiss. A roar of gasps exploded as Kiba grunted in surprise, and then relaxed. His lips moved against mine, his butt lifted off the seat to press them harder to mine. A person clearing their throat, very loudly, behind me made me pull away. I turned to Mr. Umino and he said.

"I think that's quite enough boys." Though his voice was stern, his face held a slight blush and his eyes were sparkling with amusement. I turned again and walked to my seat. While I waited for Mr. Umino to begin the lesson, someone tapped on my shoulder. I turned and looked at the pink haired girl next to me.

"What Sakura?" I asked quietly.

"You and Kiba are going out?" I stared at her for a moment before replying.

"No, I just swallowed his tongue to thank him for helping me study." Her eyebrows knit together and she glared at me.

"Jeez, you should put your glasses back on 'cause you're an ass without them." I shrugged and turned back to the front of the room. I busied myself for the rest of the hour staring at Kiba's hair. He squirmed whenever my gaze rested on him for more than a minute and I soon realized he somehow felt me looking at him. I smirked and began to bore a hole in the back of his head with my most heated look. My puppy squirmed so much that Mr. Umino reprimanded him, telling him to sit still. Kiba apologized hurriedly before shooting me a dirty look over his shoulder. I raised an eyebrow and gave him a confused look. Which is, by the way, much easier with no glasses. Kiba was not fooled in the least bit. When the bell rang Mr. Umino called out to us again. Kiba and I stood side by side, curious as to what he would say.

"Boys, I'm happy you have decided to become public with your relationship but I shouldn't have to remind you of the rules about public displays of affection. Now, I'm letting you off with a warning but I'd like all such displays to be off school property. OK?" We nodded our assent before turning to leave. The second the door closed behind us Kiba pushed me roughly into the wall, holding my collar. I smirked at him.

"Didn't you hear what Mr. Umino said?" Kiba growled, not realizing I loved it when he did that.

"What the hell was that in there?" I again fixed that confused look on my face.

"What do you mean?"

"You know damn well what. That thing that made my hair catch on fire!" I laughed quietly at Kiba's expression, both the one on his face and the one he'd said. Needless to say Kiba didn't like that one bit.

"Shut up dammit!" As Kiba said that, the biggest ass in school, Kyuubi, walked by.

"Hey look, a lovers' quarrel." His idiot buddies immediately cracked up. Before Kiba could direct his anger towards someone he could hit I said.

"Come on Kiba lets get to class." He turned back to me and nodded. We walked down the hall, still hearing the jeers of Kyuubi and his friends. At the end of the hall we had to split so we hugged, ignoring the whispers and giggles. During the embrace Kiba whispered in my ear.

"Don't worry Shino, it'll blow over soon."

"I know." I replied just as quietly. We broke apart hesitantly and went our separate ways. The farther from Kiba I walked, the colder the room felt. By the time I got to my class, it felt subzero. I quickly fished my glasses out of my pocket and put them in their normal place. I immediately began to feel better, safer.

_'I guess this will be a step by step process, I can't quit cold turkey.'_ I thought as class started. Throughout the hour people asked me three questions.

"You're gay?"

"You and Kiba are going out?"

and finally "What is the square root of 64?" It was math class after all. And that was only in the first ten minutes of class. When Mr. Hatake became absorbed in his lesson, Naruto leaned over and tapped on my shoulder. When I turned to him he whispered.

"Am I hearing things right or are there some majorly false rumors going around?"

"That depends what you heard."

"I heard that one, you came to school with your glasses off and two, that you and Kiba had a makeout session during first period...right in front of Iruka."

"The first and last parts are true but it was only one kiss." Naruto looked perplexed for a moment.

"Then why do you have your glasses on?" My gaze fell from his and I didn't answer but he seemed to understand. As he opened his mouth to speak, Mr. Hatake spoke up from the front of the room.

"Shino and Naruto, as your conversation is obviously more important than our lesson feel free to share with the class." Before I could respond, Naruto practically yelled.

"We were just discussing Kiba and Shino's make-out session last period." The class erupted in laughs giggles, and even a few whistles. Mr. Hatake looked extremely angry and it was aimed right at Naruto. I held my head in my hands as Naruto just chuckled and accepted his detention slip. Things weren't gonna be the same anymore. Oddly enough, I was OK with that

Please don't hate me people. For everyone who has commented and favorited my story I thank. I've been busy with the transition to high school and I just couldn't get myself to sit and write. Thank your for reading and commenting! Please keep it up

ItaNaru out


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